RHYL’s sensational seven-game winning streak gives them a perfect platform to create a possible JD Welsh Cup shock this weekend.

The Lilywhites make the trip to mid-Wales to take on Newtown in a mouth-watering third round clash, and Eddie Maurice-Jones’ side could not be going into the game in better form after a sensational turnaround in their fortunes of late.

This is a group of which much was expected at the start of the campaign, but things did not go according to plan early on as the squad adjusted to life at their new surroundings.

Although they are way behind runaway Huws Gray Alliance leaders Airbus Broughton following their incredible season to date that has seen them win each of their 14 league contests, there are few within the second tier that would relish the opportunity of taking this resurgent side on at the present time.

Since their narrow defeat to Llandudno in the Nathaniel MG Cup, questions were asked by the management team and the group responded magnificently, winning seven of their last seven and securing a superb success over derby rivals Bangor City last weekend in what was arguably their best performance of the season so far.

There seems to be a togetherness within the squad that looked to be missing at the start of the season, and their clash against JD Welsh Premier League opponents will be another stern test and a good measure of how far this ambitious club has come in a very short space of time.

The Robins are coming into the game on the back of a heavy 4-1 loss at Barry Town United, but Chris Hughes has guided his side to another very impressive season that sees them in pole position for sixth place and just four points off the top four with just a handful of games remaining before the split.

They have the right miss of strength and quality to hurt teams, with Luke Boundford and Nick Rushton both capable of winning a game on their own and possessing a wealth of experience at the highest level of the Welsh pyramid.

That being said, the Lilies’ have plenty of match-winners of their own in the form of James Murphy, Mike Pritchard and Kristian Pierce, with their back-three of skipper Max Peate, Reece Fairhurst and Ben Nash coming to life in recent weeks which has coincided with their superb turnaround in form.

The assured presence of Matt Cook will be given the important task of dictating the tempo from the middle of the park, and with the abundance of pace and power in the Rhyl line-up it could be a shock if this did not cause the home side significant problems throughout the tie.

Whether this will be enough to cause an upset remains to be seen, but given the run they are on it would be a foolish to write the Lilywhites off despite the quality of opposition that stands in front of them.